Which is the better investment?....1950's PSA 8s or 1960's PSA 9s

Basilone

Generally speaking....

Ive been knocking around this question today...and cannot come up with a clear cut answer. Although the POPs of 1950's PSA 8s are higher....there is room for growth in the 1960's PSA 9 POPs. Also, there seems to be a larger collector base with the 1960's issues...but the 1950's collectors seem to have deeper pockets. Down the road....with the information at hand....which do you think is the better overall investment?

Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

Lets keep the discussion to just 1950's PSA 8s vs. 1960's PSA 9s.

I would be interested to hear what you think!

John

Skycap

John,

I think 1950's PSA 8's are the better investment. This is based on my belief that there are a heck of a lot more raw 1960's cards out there than 1950's. During my two years of PSA collecting, I have followed the population info very closely, and 1960's PSA 8's and 9's are increasing much more rapidly than 1950's 8's and 9's. It's no contest. Also, I think there are actually more collectors of 1950's cards in relation to their PSA population than there are collectors of 1960's cards in relation to their PSA population. Therefore, I see 1950's 8's holding/increasing their value better than 1960's 9's.

Skycap

murcerfan

I agree with Skycaps summation.
edited to add:
in the long term however, certain psa 9's from the 60's may show a bigger return. ie, ones that do not increase in psa 8 or 9 population.
the pops are probably more volatile, as more '60's sets see the light of day and get graded.

calleocho

very interesting question!

i think both are good investments ...almost paralell. however i think psa 8 from the 50's might be a better one related to long term ..20 years.

now psa 9 from the 50's versus psa 10 from the 60's..hmmm no doubt 50's would be better

people love a challange so as psa 8 complete 60's sets become somewhat less impressive there might be a push for the a complete psa 9 set...making psa 9 the top of the line instead of psa 8.

in the 50's psa 8 are considered to be the top already 9's and 10's are out of most peoples reach even w/ money to throw around. a complete psa 8 set from the 50's has an incredible allure. so there is no reason to see those diminish in value and a lot of room go higher.

i could care less for football cards... but i believe that those cards might be the ones that see the bigger increase over time.

AlanAllen

I agree that 50's 8's are a better investment. I'm not close enough to the issue to know about potential impacts to the pop reports due to new submissions, so I won't speak to that. It's pretty clear to me, though, that few will ever attempt a 9 or better 60's set, while many have and will attempt an 8 or better 50's set. That dynamic alone should keep 50's 8's relatively higher. I suspect Calleocho is right on the money about football

Joe

ejguru

To take the argument a step further, I think 1950's (1956 and earlier) sets in 7 will equate or "outperform" 1960's sets in 8. My hunch is that more and more PSA 7 quality stuff will get graded NOT NECESSARILY for resale, but for set building purposes. I believe that stuff will certainly hold value and be worth at least 1.5/2X submission costs. Most 1960's PSA 7 quality stuff will be at least a decade away (if ever) of reaching that status.

Great thought-provoking thread!

E

PSAtan

I can't even imagine the dollar amounts and effort on sets like these. Anybody willing to share any insight. I don't think there's much mint 1950s stuff floating around and good luck submitting and receiving PSA 9 on all your cards from the 1960's. I think whoever said you'd have to wait ten years to see a profit is correct on all these sets plus you're gambling the card market continues to advance.

I think I'd rather pass the time looking at a set of 1956 w/Mantle, J. Robinson, T. Williams versus a 1966 set.

Have you considered a 1948/9 Leaf Set in PSA 7?

Best,

Satan

waittilitstartstosmell

Good God Satan! Have you got any idea what a PSA 7 set of 1948 Leafs would go for? The short prints in PSA 7 would be extremely expensive. I think it would be just as expensive as a PSA 8 1956 Topps set if not more.


Smelly

Fabfrank

Good thread John. I have to go with the 50's PSA 8's. I too believe more 60's PSA 9's will come to market, and have more price volatility as compared to 50's PSA 8's. I believe the 50's will show steady price increases and yes, 50's football in PSA 8 are very tough to find. As a matter of fact, 7's are starting to show strong prices also.

Vargha

Good God Satan!

Now, that is funny.

thegemmintman

It's funny how we all seem to agree that the 1950's PSA 8's will be better investments, but we all keep pounding away at those 1960's sets!!!

AlanAllen

Sounds like a good opportunity for a contrarian to make some $

Joe

BigKidAtHeart

<< <i> Which is the better investment?....1950's PSA 8s or 1960's PSA 9s >>


actually 1940's PSA 10's are the best investment...

but hey, I would not turn down either
of the ones You mentioned!

Vargha

1930's SCD 11's are the way to go, people.

zardoz51

You guys talk like there's vast quantities of decent raw 60's stuff out there.


It's been gone through! Dealer stocks have been ravished like the Vikings raiding a town.

Sure sets come along here and there, but how many lock 9's can you get out of them? A handful IF you're lucky.


Reality check gang!

Wayne8348

I'm probably in the minority but I believe the 1960's psa 9's will be better investments. The reason I believe this is that the competition to have the best set in the registry will drive the prices of the best example of any given card. How often do you see a bidder paying many multiples of smr to buy a low pop 9. As more collectors start shooting for the best set of any given year I think we'll see psa 9's continue to skyrocket. Look at the 1965 psa 9's pop 1 and pop 2 cards in the last superior auction. They brought over twice what a pop 1 1965 card would have brought a year ago. Just my 2 cents.

Wayne

NHLfightguy

I would go with PSA 9 1960's. I think down road more people will spend $ on 9's than 50's 8's. Just something about mint 9. I agree with Z, I just don't think there's a bunch of 1960's card sitting around in mint 9 shape just waiting to be graded....

HCS

I would definetely take the 60's PSA 9s over 50's PSA 8s. My reasoning is quite simple. Higher quality (PSA 9 versus 8), lower quantity, and at least equal demand (perhaps even greater demand for 60's PSA 9s than 50's PSA 8s). If these facts hold, then simple rules of economics dictates that 60's PSA 9s will provide a higher return over time.

pc

if i want investment advice i'll ask a cabdriver.

HCS

I used to drive a delivery truck back in college during the summer. Is that close enough to a cabdriver to give you investment advice?

Robby

John , I don't know the ages of most of you , but from reading one of your threads John , I believe you said the 1972 Topps was the first cards you collected as a kid ! I think the majority of new collectors coming into the Set Registry are going to be mostly from the 60's and 70's and higher ! Therefore , the demand will be for those cards in higher grade ! I appreciate the older sets of the 50's , but they are out of my price range and age generation ! The baby boom generation is just now starting to retire , and those people will want to revisit there past from the 60's and 70's ! As for me , I am 52 and the 60's is what I remember ! Robby

acowa

Robby,

Not many people who collected Cracker Jack cards in 1914 are still around...yet they're pretty popular.

I understand where you're coming from...but we're talking from an investment standpoint.


Regards,



Alan

Basilone

Robby-

Actually, Im 32 (born in 1971)...I grew up collecting 1979-1984 Topps. The cool thing about this hobby is that you can learn about the players before you were even born. Case in point...HBO recently showed "When It Was a Game" on cable a month or so ago. 5 Years ago..if I would of seen it ...no big deal. Yet when I saw it recently..I thought it was the nuts.

Oh yea..as of last night..I had no idea the Roger Bresnahan (HOF) was responsible for the idea of bringing protective catching equipment to the big leagues.

(gotta read those auction lot descriptions).

John

theBobs

<< <i>Therefore , the demand will be for those cards in higher grade >>



This is probably true. However, its only meaningful if the demand for 70s materials is higher in relation to available supply.

If you have 1,000 people chasing 1950s with a supply of 50,000 compared to 10,000 people chasing 1970s with a supply of 100,000,000 -- well, the fact that 50,000 is bigger than 1,000 really doesn't matter...

FB

I'll just stick with my late 80's Topps PSA 10's!

thefootballcardstore

John , I don't know the ages of most of you , but from reading one of your threads John , I believe you said the 1972 Topps was the first cards you collected as a kid ! I think the majority of new collectors coming into the Set Registry are going to be mostly from the 60's and 70's and higher ! Therefore , the demand will be for those cards in higher grade ! I appreciate the older sets of the 50's , but they are out of my price range and age generation ! The baby boom generation is just now starting to retire , and those people will want to revisit there past from the 60's and 70's ! As for me , I am 52 and the 60's is what I remember ! Robby

Good point, I lot of young collector's can't relate to older cards, and you have to like what you collect.

Jeremy

acowa

<Good point, I lot of young collector's can't relate to older cards, and you have to like what you collect.>


Jeremy,

I started collecting in 1971 and my problem is that I can relate a lot easier to a 1914 Cracker Jack card than a 2003 refractor.


Regards,



Alan

thefootballcardstore

I don't think people that started collecting in the 70s can relate to modern, I can't.
But they relate much better to 60s, 70s and 80s, than to 40s and 50s.

IMHO that is, Jeremy

acowa

Jeremy,

If you put an example of every type of baseball card printed since 2000 into a big container and randomly drew 20 out, what % of the cards would you guess correctly if you had to be correct on year and manufacturer?

For me, that % would be very low. It's hard for me to get attached to a card that I can't even identify.


Regards,



Alan

thefootballcardstore

For me that would be maybe 10%. I haven't picked up a new card since about 1995 (OK, except a couple of Autos).

Jeremy

Robby

Alan , That is a very interesting point you brought up about the 1914 Cracker Jack Cards ! You piqued my curiousity about this set , so I looked it up on the Set Registry to find out more about it ! Looks like a near impossible set to find in PSA 7 OR BETTER ! Only 5 sets registered ! Just wanted to let you know that I have about 50 of these Cracker Jack cards ! But wait ......... before you jump out of your chair to e-mail me a want list , I must confess that they are the 1988 mini Topps that were inserted in Cracker Jack's ! Sorry to get your heart racing like that , but couldn't resist ! I am a mailman for the U.S. Postal Service ( Please , no Cliff or Newman jokes ) , so being the poor man that I am , I'm afraid those cards are out of my reach ! My wife is always nagging me about spending to much on baseball cards as it is ! Enjoy your comments ! Robby

Robby

John , " When it Was A Game " is indeed a fantastic piece of film ! I watched it about 6 years ago , and was so impressed with it that I had to tape it for my Dad , because he did't get HBO ! The 8 mm film in color is truly a thing of beauty to behold ! There is also another one " When it Was A Game 2 " . Enjoyed your thread ! Robby

acowa

Robby,

I bought a reprint set of those cards some years ago. It's an incredible set with a ton of HOF'ers. I have never owned an original 1914 Cracker Jack card...but I appreciate the set nonetheless.


Regards,



Alan

murcerfan

Robby,
send me a picture of your wife, maybe we can work out a swap for my '14 CJ's

Buckwheat

Perhaps the 1960's PSA 8's are better investments than either of these. All of the 50's are presently very hot in commons, as verified by the sportscard plus auction, so now may not be the best time to buy. The 60's PSA 9's are also much more expensive than they were a year ago, and are selling for 10-15X the same card in PSA 8. The PSA 8's in 60's are much cheaper than a year ago.

If you look at the star cards, it seems that PSA 9's can't hold onto values 10X the same card in PSA 8, so why should we expect the commons to behave any differently.

For investing, you want to buy values, and it appears to me that the best value out there right now is PSA 8's in the 60's. The volume of cards that have come out in the past 2 years has been phenonomal, which has driven down the prices. But I don't think that it can last. With dealer stock of high quality raw declining, and what they have being priced as if it is already graded, the amount of new graded stuff should decrease significantly over the next year or two.

calleocho

1960's psa 8's would defenetly be a safe place to invest and actually it might be the most fun considering that if pop increases you might just be out a few bucks here and there instead of hundreds w/ low pop 9's from the same period.

however the bigger the risk ..the bigger the reward could be.

im actually having a lot of fun collecting mid grade 50's right now. i pay very little for them ( and i mean VERY little) and i dont have any preassure for investment purposes.

if mid grade gets hot in a few years.. great ..if they dont ...so be it.

i still however think a 50's common in PSA 8 will outdo a 60's psa 9 over the long haul.

zardoz51

Murcerfan

he11, you can have my wife and I'll throw some CJ's in the deal. You will also get her credit card bills.



(and everybody said that it was impossible to screw murcerfan on a deal

murcerfan

Z,
I'll need front and back scans of her................ and then maybe we can work something out.
I suppose if she doesn't work out I can always put her out on e-bay


edited to add: It's easy to screw me on a card deal, just tell me it's the Polo Grounds in the background and charge me double

zardoz51

Kind of defeats the purpose. I could put her on ebay myself and skip the murcerfan step. Somebody HAS to step up to the plate and accept the legal (fiscal) responsibilities attached to this high maintenance unit.

Polo grounds eh? I'll have to remember that!

Robby

Murcerfan , I'm sorry , but I can't provide you a scan - you will just have to trust me that she is a GEM MINT speciman ! The 14 CJ's cards sound like a heck of a deal ! Who are the player's and what are the condition of the cards ! Darn it , I just can't do it ! I can't take advantage of you like that , because you sound like a good guy , wouldn't be a fair trade on your part ! I really believe I'm the only one that can get along with her ! Thanks for the offer thou ! Robby

murcerfan

ahh...... well, they were just reprints I soaked in tea anyways